Beverage containers and method of filling the same



Oct. 7, 1958 w. GEISLER 2,855,005

BEVERAGE CONTAINERS AND METHOD OF FILLING THE. SAME Filed Dec. 16, 1955STEAM BEVERAGE GAS BEVERAGE 7 FIG. I

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\22 ATTORNEYS United States Patent BEVERAGE CONTAINERS AND METHOD OFFILLING THE SAME William Geisler, Tenafly, N. J., assignor, by mesneassignments, to National Phoenix Industries, Inc., Maywood, N. 1., acorporation of Delaware Application December 16, 1955, Serial No.553,473

Claims. (Cl. 141-7) Beverages such as soft drinks and beer are packagedand sold in bottles and cans having removable crown caps and also inconventional cans which are opened by puncturing the metal at one endfor the egress of the contained liquid and the ingress of air. Thesterilizing, filling and closing of such containers necessarily involvesseveral steps which must be carried out successively with the interiorof the can and the contents exposed to recontamination. With thecontainer and method of this application these several steps requiredfor filling and closing the conventional containers which have to beperformed by the manufacturer of the beverage are eliminated and insteadthe completed closed container is manufactured by the bottleor can-makerand is sterilized and filled at one operation at the plant of thebeverage maker with no exposure of the contents or the interior of thecontainer to possible contamination during the operation.

Our improved container may be either a can or a bottle of conventionalform execept that the bottle cap or the end of the can, as the case maybe, is provided with a rubber disk or plug vulcanized over and closing ahole in the metal of the cap or can end, and of a character to beself-sealing when punctured by a hollow needle.

In carrying out our method, a double hollow needle is projected throughthe exposed portion of the rubber disk or plug in the can top or bottlecap and steam at a sterilizing temperature and pressure is fed into thecan or bottle for 'a sufiicient time to sterilize its interior, thesteam passing out through one of the hollow needles which is connectedto a discharge passage in the head by which the needles are carried,through a check valve to prevent ingress of air. After the can or bottleis sterilized, the steam is cut off and the beverage discharged into thecan or bottle through the needle. After the can or bottle is filled theneedle is withdrawn, the hole in the rubber cap sealing itself so thatthere is no possibility of contamination of the contents of the bottle.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated diagrammaticallyapparatus for carrying out the successive steps in the filling operationbut it will be understood that in practice the steps are performed byautomatic machinery equipped with a large number of filling heads suchas now common practice, so that the bottles or cans can be filled asrapidly as they can be fed into and away from the machine, regardless ofthe rate of flow of the beverage into the containers.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows in cross-section a can of the character used according tomy inmproved method with the filling needle inserted in the can and theneedle connected to the steam supply for sterilizing;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the can in process of being filled withthe beverage;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a bottle with a cap such as abovedescribed;

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a cam having a valved closure through whichthe can may be filled; and

2 Fig. 5 is a diagrammtic view showing the preferred method of makingthe can shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a can having the rubber cap 2vulcanized at one end of the can over an opening 3, as shown. The can tobe filled is supported on a platform 4 which is elevated to push therubber plug 3 against the double hollow needle 5 carried by the head 6to project the double needle through the rubber plug in the can top, asshown in Fig. 1. Steam is then admitted (through the 3-way valve 7) tothe longer branch of the double needle at the necessary pressure andtemperature to sterilize the inside of the can, the steam passing outthrough the shorter branch of the needle connected to the discharge pipeor passage 9 which is closed by a check valve 10 to prevent the ingressof air. The discharge pipe 9 may be connected to a vacuum pump, througha pipe 11 to withdraw the steam from the can and thereby reduce thequantity of condensate left in the can. After the can is sterilized the3-way valve 7 is turned to permit the liquid to flow into the canthrough the longer needle without withdrawing the needle from the can.If the liquid is an aerated beverage such as beer, ginger ale or thelike, the filling operation is now complete and the platform will belowered to eifect a withdrawal of the needle, the rubber plug being of ashape to be self-sealing under the internal pressure of the aeratedbeverage.

If the liquid is not an aerated beverage, for example, milk or fruitjuice, the 3-way valve 7 is turned to allow sterile gas such as nitrogenunder pressure to flow into the can to fill the can and providesufficient internal pressure to insure a tight sealing of the rubberplug. The check valve 10 may be spring-loaded to provide the desiredback pressure against the discharge of the gas.

The same sequence of operations is performed when filling a bottlefitted with the cap having an exposed selfsealing rubber portion. Suchbottle is shown in section in Fig. 3. A preferred method of makingbottle caps of the character described is shown and described in myco-pending application Serial No. 436,822, filed June 15, 1954.

As shown in Fig. 3, 13 is the rubber disk which is molded to the face ofthe metal sheet from which the cap 14 is formed. The cap 14 has acentral hole overlying the self-sealing mid-portion 12 through which theneedle 5 is forced for the sterilizing and filling operations. Theimproved method of packaging may also be employed with pressuredischarge containers equipped with discharge valves such as shown in theco-pending application Serial No. 527,982, filed August 12, 1955, byJames G. Groendyk and myself and also in Fig. 4 of this application. Ashere shown the can neck is formed with an inwardly extending, downwardlyinclined flange surrounding the neck opening into which the rubber plug15 is forced when the cap is applied to the can. The plug 15 has avalveforming flange 16 at its inner end and the plug 15 is forced intothe neck far enough for this flange to seal against the edge of theflange on the neck of the can. The metal cap 17 is cut away to exposethe mid-portion of the upper surface of the plug and its lower edge isspun beneath the rim of the can neck. As described in theabove-mentioned application the cap is provided with a closed spout thetip of which is cut ofi when the contents of the can is to be dispensed.

As will be noted from Fig. 4, the double filling needle 5 has beenpushed through the exposed rubber portion of the valved bottle cap sothat the successive steps of sterilizing, filling and pressurizing canbe carried out in the manner described above. When the double needle iswithdrawn the cap is self-sealed and the container may be used as adispensing container over a long period of time without the contentsbeing subject to spoiling or contamination. The can tops may bemanufactured by the same method as the bottle caps disclosed in ourabovementioned application. As shown in Fig. 5, a sheet of metal 20 ispunched at spaced intervals to provide holes 21 at the center of the cantops Which are to be cut from the sheet by gang punches in the usualmanner. This sheet is laid on the bottom member 22 of the mold in thesame manner as the sheet from which bottle caps are made, and the rubbermolding compound forced by the press 23 into the molds to form the plugsclosing the holes in the sheet. In forming the closing plugs in the cantops the mold members are formed with cavities registering with thepunched holes in the sheet metal to provide disks of rubber vulcanizedto both sides of the metal to prevent possible leakage which mightotherwise be caused by the pressure of inserting the needle or the pullof withdrawing the needle during the filling operation. Except for thisstep of forming and attaching the rubber plugs to the sheet metal fromwhich the can tops are cut, the manufacture of the cans is carried outin the conventional manner on conventional machines, except that bothends of the can are applied at the same time to the body portion.

The term self-sealing plastic as used in the appended claims means acompound such as rubber, wherein a puncture produced by a needle-likeinstrument closes when the instrument is withdrawn.

I claim:

1. The method of packaging fluids which comprises providing a closedreceptacle having a portion of its wall composed of a self-sealingplastic, projecting a hollow needle through said plastic portion,sterilizing the interior of said receptacle by a fluid delivered throughsaid needle, withdrawing said sterilizing fluid through said needlewhile excluding the ingress of air charging the receptacle with thefluid to be packaged through said needle and withdrawing said needle.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sterilizing fluid is steam.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein an innocuous gas under pressure isadded to the receptacle before withdrawing the needle.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein a sub-atmospheric pressure is providedin said receptacle before said needle is withdrawn.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the needle used is a double needlehaving one branch discharging to the atmosphere through a loaded valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,832,321 Owens Nov. 17, 1931 1,842,969 Heyman Jan. 26, 1932 2,131,181Kantor Sept. 27, 1938 2,338,108 Gartland Jan. 4, 1944 2,377,796 McKinnisJune 5, 1945 2,516,647 Rogers et a1 July 25, 1950 2,541,272 Murphy Feb.13, 1951 2,652,169 Brusienski Sept. 15, 1953 2,670,871 Spiess et al.Mar. 2, 1954 2,693,418 Smith Nov. 2, 1954

